MayaA galvanized steel sculpture, chosen out of 10 submissions to stand on the Quigley circle roundabout. The sculpture depicts the hand of the Hindu Lakshmi rising out of a lotus flower. <br /><br />The goddess Lakshmi is believed to be the most beautiful in the Hindu pantheon. The goddess of wealth, fortune, and prosperty, the presence of her image is often related with established success or hope for future success. She is often depicted with a lotus flower, which is a symbol of purity and perseverance because its beautiful blooms are unstained by the muddy waters in which it tends to grow. Erected prominently off the exit of a major freeway, Maya alludes to Cleveland's past fortune to inspire hope for some sort of renaissance. Murphy's use of galvanized steel hearkens to the city's once-prosperous steel industry whose booming furnaces once roared where the neighborhood of Tremont now stands. In more ways than one, Cleveland today is akin to the lotus flower. Having risen from the muddy waters that were the decline of the steel industry and ensuing spikes in poverty and degredeation, the flower is now beginning to bloom once again, as Cleveland experiences a sort of rejuvenation. Murphy expertly makes full use of relationship between the location of the sculpture and the images he chose to incorporate.<br /><br />The true impact of much of Murphy's work is only revealed from a certain angle. Pieces like his <a href="http://oosi.sculpturecenter.org/items/show/1301">Stephanie Tubbs Jones</a> in Cleveland are only recognizable as representative art pieces from straight on. This is true of "Maya" as well. Situated on a roundabout, drivers are not simply <em>able</em> to circumnavigate the sculpture-- it is an action that is both implied and necessary. <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Michael+Murphy">Michael Murphy</a>2007<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=37&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Tarra+Petras">Tarra Petras</a>Crystal Lake ParkAn earthworks piece devised by Brinsley Tyrrell that consists of monolithic carved sandstone blocks, piles of arranged stones, trees, and wildflowers on the bank of the Crystal Lake. He was assisted by a landscape architect in implementing each element in a manner that made sense.
The large sandstone block that is embedded in the landscape is titled "Break the Crane Rock" because it broke the crane that was placing it during installation with its weight, and the snake bench right on the bank is called so because of the carved snake that wraps around the length of the stone.
An often overlooked part of this piece is that it is much more than just the carved and stacked stones. Tyrrell worked on the entire space, including planting a patch wildflowers on the prairie bank (now overrun with weeds), and several trees around the area. <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Brinsley+Tyrrell">Brinsley Tyrrell</a>1991Partially Buried Woodshed (Removed)Robert Smithson, famous land artist behind the Spiral Jetty among other things, came to Kent State University with the intent of creating another one of his "Flow" pieces, where he would let a substance flow down a hill to create a naturally formed earthwork sculpture. Unfortunately, the frigid January weather prevented his intended material, mud, from flowing at all, so Smithson had another idea. He decided to create a piece that demonstrated entropy, or the inevitable decline into disorder that everything will experience eventually. To achieve this end, Smithson ordered an abandoned woodshed on the campus to be buried with tons of dirt until the center beam cracked, ensuring it would collapse. He then asked that it never be interacted with again. His instructions to the caretakers of the piece at Kent State were clear: maintenance of the piece consists of performing no maintenance whatsoever on the piece. Allow the world to destroy and overtake the piece as it would like.
Only a few months after the piece was erected, the Kent State Massacre occurred, and the woodshed was subsequently marked with the date "May 4, Kent 70" linking the shed to that fateful day. The shed was set on fire a few years later by an arsonist and then the University planted a grove of trees around it to prevent passersby from seeing it. In 1984, by an unknown party, the Woodshed was completely torn down to its concrete foundations, which still stand today.
Smithson's Partially Buried Woodshed is an important piece in his own oeuvre, but also in the progression of the Land Art psuedo-movement. Questions arise around whether the Partially Buried Woodshed accomplished its task of demonstrating entropy, or whether that idea was ruined by human intervention. Smithson never got to speak at length on the matter due to his premature death in a plane crash in 1973.<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Robert+Smithson">Robert Smithson</a>1970-1984The World's Largest Amish Horse and BuggyThe world's largest horse and buggy stands at the corner of a small park in Mesopotamia, Ohio. The wooden horse and buggy are perfectly proportional to an actual horse and buggy, and uses 2300 board feet of lumber. But, this Trojan horse poses no threat to the residents of Mesopotamia. The horse and buggy were both conceived and constructed by artist Chris McConnell: a CIA sculpture student with numerous other monumental works of animals around Ohio.<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Chris+McConnell">Chris McConnell</a>2008The Eagles (Removed)In 1898, to the patriotic glee of 40,000, the city of Cleveland ceremoniously unveiled its new Chamber of Commerce Building. And there to greet the cheering masses and decorated soldiers were 4 granite eagles, masterfully carved by Joseph Carabelli. Carabelli was an Italian immigrant who settled in Little Italy and started the Lakeview Monumental Co. where he carved many of the magnificent headstones in Lakeview cemetery. His marble cutting and granite carving abilities were peerless, as is apparent when looking at the grand eagles. Their noble faces peer off to either side. Their features are strong but not heavy-- rather, they are valiant and graceful. Each eagle's strong brow gives it an air of vigilance and gravity, while their cascading feathers are a reflection of the grandeur they once protected: the Chamber of Commerce Building.
The building, at the time of its construction, was lauded as "magnificent" and "rich in detail", adorned with caryatid columns and tall, arched windows. The eagles were originally perched on a low wall that ran along the edifice of the building, but in 1955 they were removed, as a result of the buildings demolition. The 2 eagles, after standing outside a private farm in Geauga Township, are now on sale as of January 23, 2018. Cleveland City Hall "is aware of them and longs for their majestic return to the area."<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Joseph+A.+Carabelli">Joseph A. Carabelli</a>1898-1955The Lexington Village MemorialThe Hough neighborhood in Cleveland is one of the most historic districts in the city. Beginning as a prosperous, wealthy neighborhood at the end of the nineteenth century, Hough was home to some of the most prominent citizens of the most prominent city in the US at that time: Cleveland. Hough was the original home of the Cleveland Indians (or the Cleveland Spiders, as they were known then) and League Park in Hough is where the first and only unassisted triple play in the World Series took place.
The Great Depression and post-war years took a devastating toll on the Hough neighborhood though. Many of the original residents moved out into the suburbs, while many African Americans from the South settled down in Hough as a result of the Second Great Migration.
The 60's saw absentee landlords, a crumbled tax base, and rampant racism fanning the already roaring flames of racial tensions between blacks and whites in the neighborhood. But it wasn't until the disgruntled owner of Seventy Niners' Cafe at 79th and Hough hung a sign reading "No Water for N*****s" on his door as a response to a black customer asking for water that a long overdue riot flared up.
Over the course of about a week, millions of dollars of damage were done to the neighborhood. Shops and homes were looted and destroyed. Injuries and deaths dotted the streets, ensconced in flame.
At the time of this monument's erection, Hough was the second poorest district in the city. It never truly recovered from the riot, and that is what this obelisk commemorates. Fannie Lewis, famed councilwoman who represented the Hough for many years, oversaw most of the design. The monument is meant to honor the perseverance and life of the Hough neighborhood: to celebrate the history and culture of the area beyond just the Riots. The monument stands at the same intersection where the Riots are popularly believed to have begun.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Paul+J.+Volpe">Paul J. Volpe</a>1989Vortex I: Jax<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jon+Barlow+Hudson">Jon Barlow Hudson</a>1970Uncarved Block XXIV: Jet<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jon+Barlow+Hudson">Jon Barlow Hudson</a>2000Uncarved Blocks: Tai Chi<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jon+Barlow+Hudson">Jon Barlow Hudson</a>2015 and 2016Synchronicity X: I Am the Light of the World<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jon+Barlow+Hudson">Jon Barlow Hudson</a>2008Synchronicity III<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jon+Barlow+Hudson">Jon Barlow Hudson</a>2002Stretched Octahedron<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jon+Barlow+Hudson">Jon Barlow Hudson</a>2015Paradigm ShiftAn Ohio Arts Council Commissioned art installation made from the drops from Morning Star II<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jon+Barlow+Hudson">Jon Barlow Hudson</a>2006Open Book Memorial Stone for WriterA memorial marker for the artist's mother.<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jon+Barlow+Hudson">Jon Barlow Hudson</a>1992Mud Flat and Proverb Stone<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jon+Barlow+Hudson">Jon Barlow Hudson</a>2017Memorial Stone for MagicianA memorial to the artist's father, Benjamin Rexford Hudson, who passed away in 1996.<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jon+Barlow+Hudson">Jon Barlow Hudson</a>1996Harlequin I <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jon+Barlow+Hudson">Jon Barlow Hudson</a>1985Grinell Bridge Piece<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jon+Barlow+Hudson">Jon Barlow Hudson</a>1966Fluid DynamicsA sculpture on a theme of fluid dynamics due to the site having been a canal in the late 19th c.<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jon+Barlow+Hudson">Jon Barlow Hudson</a>2013FirewallAn outdoor environmental installation and a memorial to the Firefighters & EMS personell of this 9 county region around Centerville/Dayton, OH. It is installed in Stubbs Park on Spring Valley Rd., near the amphitheatre. The Wall includes the names of 69 fallen heroes.
The "firewalls" are steel construction, powder-coated. The largest is 15 feet high. The triangular precinct is paved in brick, 40 feet on a side. The entry pathway is paved with bricks from a 19th century fire station in Dayton.
The Firefighter silhouette idea was inspired by an ancient Jain icon of the Buddha -- the image being empty space, indicating the spiritual, immaterial essence of the Buddha, and hence, the Fallen. The standing silhouette in the distance behind is the spirit of the Fallen in another dimension. <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jon+Barlow+Hudson">Jon Barlow Hudson</a>2010Eidolon Linear Atom<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jon+Barlow+Hudson">Jon Barlow Hudson</a>2015Eidolon Biologic<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jon+Barlow+Hudson">Jon Barlow Hudson</a>2010Double HelixDouble Helix is an abstract sculpture on the campus of Wright State University. it is located in front of The Mathew O. Diggs III Laboratory for Life Science Research.
The sculpture is a series of polished metal dodecahedrons arranged like a spiraling helix of a DNA molecule. The spiral is 8 feet wide, 8 feet high and 25 feet long.<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jon+Barlow+Hudson">Jon Barlow Hudson</a>2008Contemporary Cornucopia (Temporary)An 8 x 6 x 11 ft. shopping cart overflowing with cans, bags of bread, chips, and brooms.<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jon+Barlow+Hudson">Jon Barlow Hudson</a>1989